A Drop of Love In The Star Ocean
by Dorchica
Summary: ADOLITSO. Faize has returned to Lemuris and Lymle seemed to accept his friendship. But as they live together, emotions stir from deep and they have to face the new feelings and some old enemies... FaiLym.
1. Chapter 1

This is the continuation, and the second part of the (as planned) ADOLITSO Trilogy. This story picks up where the ADOLITSO: PROLOGUE left off, with Faize arriving on Lemuris.

Pairing: Of course, FaiLym.

Chapter 1.

_Bit hesitantly, he streched out his hand which held the flower, and gently put it in in her pigtail._

_Not really knowing what to do, he let his hand to reach out for her._

_She sorrowfully looked down, and began to turn towards his way._

_As soon as she noticed his hand, she cautiously looked up at him, and – to his surprise- she seemed surprised._

_**So she can now show emotion...? All thanks to... me? **__Faize thought._

_Moments later, her surprised expression turned into a smile._

_With a slow movement, she also reached up, but with both hands, and Faize also reached for her other hand. Hand in hand, they stood, staring at each other, both of them smiling, and not saying a word. It was their reunion, and should not be ruined with sensless words._

_Because no words could describe the emotions they both felt._

_They both missed each other._

_They both had questions for each other._

_But more importantly – they now had each other. Just she and him._

_Together_.

They stood like this for minutes. A small breeze passed by, ruffling both of their hairs' and making small petals of flowers dance in in the air, slightly brushing their faces.

A pair of violet eyes were locked into the smaller, golden orbs.

He was afraid what would she say. He didn't know what to say, but Lymle seemed to be alright with him returning out of the blue.

Suddenly, the golden orbs turned into stony, silver eyes, and his vertical position dramatically turned into horizontal with a burst of pain in his back and chest. Not to mention the immense warmth and growl that came from very close to his face...

"No! Doggie, get down from Faize!" Lymle's paniced, soft voice called.

Faize's eyes turned into saucers as the vicious demon dog still growled at him, his teeth bared inches away from his nose. Fear gripped his whole being,

"U-uhm, good to see you too, C-Cerberus." Faize managed to stutter as he shook beneath the unholy being. This was only oil to the fire, as Cerberus growled more and in a lower tone.

"Doggie! Get back _now_!" Lymle yelled and to Faize's utter surprise, the dog snapped his head back, and with an unbearable whine, he walked back to Lymle, who gave her dog the most angry stare Faize ever saw from Lymle.

"Don't ever do that to Faize again, kay?" she gave Cerberus a slap on the head and he whined even more, "I taught you tricks to amaze him, not to scare him away! You are a bad doggie indeed. Go back now." with a last, puppy-eyes stare, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Are you alright?" Lymle walked up to him, who was now in a sitting position. He gave her a smile,

"Yes. I'm fine. I bet he was angry at me for leaving you..." he looked away from her, to his toes.

"You know..." Lymle began, "I was angry at you in the beginning too." Faize closed his eyes, waiting for the rain of anger to shower on him, "But... I understand your feelings, kay?" He looked up at him, in awe. She was smiling again.

_She looks so much prettier when smiling_...

"But what you did doesn't matter now. You weren't the bad guy. Those Gregory were."

"Those were Grigori." He corrected her, smiling and stood up, dusting off himself. He then glanced at her, and noticed, she now was in level with his chest. "Oh my, you've grown, Lymle!"

"Of course I did, you dummy." She chuckled, "My curse was broken. But you could see that with your own eyes on that planet." She looked at him, beaming with happiness. Moments later, she noticed something,

"You are not wearing that cloak..." she began. Faize nodded,

"Yes."

"But... I told you that it looked kinda okay on you..." she seemed puzzled. Faize couldn't help, but chuckle, and he put his hand on the top of her head,

"And I also told you that I will wear it till I convince you it looks good. Hence it happened, I thought if I wanted to return to you, the best would be to dispose of it."

"That doesn't sound so logical, kay." Lymle blinked up at him from beneath his hand. "So... to put it simply... you took it off so I wouldn't be that angry at you. That's the real reason, isn't it?"

Faize couldn't hide his smile, "Not only you have matured biologically, your mental age has finally caught up with you. I'm impressed."

She pouted at him and now hid her eyes beneath her fringe and Faize pulled his hand away.

Lymle then asked, "And what are you planning to do, Faize? Did you just... visit?" her voice seemed to crack a little. The boy blushed and cleared his throat,

"I'm not exactly sure... I guess... I wanted to know how you... you behave when you learn I'm still alive." he said cautiously, carefully picking the right words.

"In that case..." she now looked up, her face once again beaming, "You must stay here, kay?"

Faize felt mixed feelings. One was utter surprise, and the second was the feeling of warmth and comfort. Could he... really stay here?

"You sure, Lymle?" he asked hesitantly, "Can you forgive me... after all that I done?"

"I told you before, that I understood your feelings about that time." she now sounded serious and so did her expression change, "I would not forgive you however, if you would leave me again."

"Am I glad to hear that your vocabulary has expanded too." his sarcastic sentence this time recieved a response. With a mischevious glint in her eye, Lymle tackled him in the stomach. Faize didn't really brace himself for such a contact so they both ended up rolling down till the foot of the small hill.

It took him some time to readjust his sight and after a couple of blinks, the face of a fake-angry Lymle, covered in grass appeared before him,

"I'm not a kid anymore, kay? Guess what, my range of possibilities had widened and expanded too!" she snapped at him, sitting ontop of him.

"Uhm... that might get one's mind to the wrong idea, Lymle." Faize said after a couple of moments of silence.

"You pervert! I meant symbology!" Lymle shrieked and slapped his head gently. She sprang away from him, and showed her back to him.

"Geez, Lymle... You've absorbed too much from Reimi." The poor Eldarian boy rubbed the top of his head, even though it didn't even hurt.

"So did you from Edge." she said, her back still facing him.

"Edge? How come it's not Edgie this time?" he stood up once again, trying to get the grass off of him.

"I've matured, kay?"

"I see." he rolled his eyes, then shifted his mood once again to serious, "I have a question though..."

Hearing his serious tone, she turned back to him, no sign of childishness or pouting visible on her features, "Yes?"

"Um... where will I live?" he asked dumbly, fidgeting a bit on his spot. She gave him a warm smile again, and he felt his insides melting instantly,

"You dummy Faize. With me of course. I don't want you to leave again, kay? So I must keep my eyes on you. To make sure you don't escape." She now reached her hand out to him, and he began walking towards her,

"I never considered leaving you again, Lymle." he said, smiling and held onto her hand, "Besides, according to our legends," their eyes locked onto each other, "this is my Utopia."

Hand in hand and smiling, they both departed towards the newly built village where now Lymle lived in – and where Faize will too.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

Faize and Lymle walked by, hand in hand towards the newly built village, which was named New – Triom, to honour the previous home of Lemurians. The area was built in a beautiful, rich valley. Even though the planet was cold, due to topological reasons, the air seemed to be sweeter, and warmer here.

The duo's journey was not so long, and they never exchanged words with each other. The reason was not because of hesitation, but of silent happiness to be finally reunited. Such moments were not to be disturbed by senseless words.

The young Eldarian seemed to get tense as they reached the gates of the village and Lymle noticed it. She turned to him, not releasing his hand,

"What's wrong, Faize?" she asked in a whisper even though she sensed his building panic.

The green haired boy shook his head slightly, "I'm afraid of their reactions. What I did was evil and-"

To his surprise, Lymle was smiling and gently tucked his hand,

"You'll see. C'mon!" slightly speeding up, she lead her reluctant friend behind the gates...

New – Triom was beautiful. Blooming flowers, big houses were around, and a small stone angel statue in the center, as a memorial to the previous home. Everything seemed to be peaceful, Faize thought. Yet.

What Faize noticed first though, was that New – Triom was not only habited by Lemurians alone.

Along with the short village people, he immediatley caught glimpses of a taller, thinner race, with pointed ears. The survived Eldarians lived with them aswell and they immediatley looked at their newcome "brother".

Faize swallowed a big. His heart thumped in his chest and looked back at them sheepishly. As he predicted, people began to whisper and talk as soon as they noticed him. The only difference was between in his mind and in reality, that they did it with joy and amaze in their eyes.

"Lymle...? " Faize questioned. She nodded, and pulled him towards her house. As he was getting dragged, he noticed that a few Eldarian had their ear ornaments removed.

For Eldarians, this meant that they already got settled down, and had atleast a lifelong partner.

So, they too literally inhabited this planet aswell? This really was their Utopia? Faize's head was swirling with questions, and this did not help his growing confusion.

Lymle's house was a small and comfortable. As soon as they were inside, she gestured him to sit down, which he did immediatley. She sat next to him.

The room they were in was the kitchen and the living room aswell. The bedroom and the bathroom were in seperate rooms.

"I don't understand." Faize began, as Lymle made herself comfortable on her wooden chair, "I thought they'd... they'd try to make me leave." he formed his thoughts sophisticatedly.

Lymle stayed silent.

"Lymle? May you enlighten me on what happened?" Faize blinked. Lymle was never this silent. Especially with him around. Well, the journey here was a different story...

She sighed, "Edge gave them a speech." she replied shortly. Faize continued to blink.

Hesitantly, Lymle moved towards him (startling the eldarian boy) and put her palm on his forehead.

In that exact moment Faize felt he's inside a movie, in someone else's point of view. He immediatley recognised he is living through Lymle's memory from her point of view.

_She was standing on the small hill, where the angel statue was, and infront of her was the whole village, eagrly waiting for Edge Maverick, who was standing beside her (him?). As Faize noticed, Lymle was still a child, as she barely reached Edge's waist. He then noticed that Reimi was also beside Edge, and was holding his hand. _So they got together, huh? If Faize could smirk, he would, but this was Lymle's memory.

"_What happened to our brother who was with your crew?" And Eldarian guy asked, who was in the first row of the crowd. Lymle tensed, and Edge cleared his throat._

"_I will tell you the truth." Lymle looked up at Edge. _For Faize, this was incredibly weird, and felt a tad bit uncomfortable to see inside of Edge's nose._ The blonde boy stepped forward, not releasing Reimi's hand._

"_Faize... Thanks to Faize, we are here right now." a murmur swept over the crowd. _Faize mentally screamed a "WHAT?"

_Edge continued as soon as it was silent again, "Faize set up a lonely journey to save all of his fellow Eldarian bretheren." he looked around, "He tried his best. Fought till the end, never giving up, saving as many of you as he could do. Sadly, however, he soon got outnumbered." gasps were heard amongst the crowd. Faize could mentally let his jaw hit the floor._

"_As a result, instead of killing him, the Grigori caught him, and took him prisoner in his own mind. He tried his best to fight against it." as characteristic of Edge, with his free hand, he swiped sideways, "He sacrificed his own mind in order to save you all! He made the Grigori withdraw, but at the cost of his own will. Soon, they took him whole, and used him, like a puppet." It was then when Faize noticed that his vision was blurry. Lymle was... crying...?_

"_Eventually, we could free him from the evil... but..." he now clenched his fist, "He saved us. With his Sol, and remaining willpower. For me his... his fate is unknown. But he will never give up!" Edge now yelled, "I know he will return someday!"_

"_He... he did this for us?" one of the Eldarians cried, "He... he sacrificed himself of becoming a traitor in order to save us?"_

"_He's a true hero!" another one yelled,_

"_Our brother!" more and more voices followed, then suddenly..._

He was staring at Lymle's palm. A couple of moments later, she withdrew her hand and was staring at Faize intently.

"He... lied." Faize let out bitterly. Lymle shook her head.

"No, he didn't. You wanted to help, Faize." she reminded him. He shook his head violently,

"But I also wanted to-"

"Cut it out, kay?" she said in a louder tone now, "I don't want to talk about it anymore! You had more than two years to digest yourself up!"

"T-Two years?" Faize gawked,

"You were away for two and a half years. I'm 19 now." she crossed her arms, "And guess what day it is."

Faize calculated and set his eyes on her, "The day we first landed on your planet?"

She smiled and shook her head gently. Then it finally hit him,

"Are you trying to imply that today is your birthday?" he cautiously asked. Her smile widened, and nodded happily. Faize felt like something in his mind broke.

It's her birthday and he hadn't bought her anything at all! This was the worst!

"L-Lymle, I-I'm sorry!" He stood up immediatley, "It was so impolite of me to not know and come here without a-" but to his surprise she stood up aswell, and was still smiling at him,

"But you already gave me a present." She said gently. He let out a sigh,

"I am hesitant to say, but that flower is not much of a birthday present-"

"Dummy!" She laughed, "I meant you! You've returned, alive! I couldn't ask for more!"

"M-me?" he stuttered and blushed , "H-how... W-wha..."

She laughed innocently, which made him blush even deeper. He never heard her laugh so freely, so innocently.

"Faize, I never heard you stutter ever! " she giggled now.

"W-well, there's a first for everything, huh?" he asked, and looked away, wanting his blush to fade away.

"Huh?" Lymle leaned up closer to him, "Faize, your eyes are pink."

"Excuse-?" her statement startled him and looked at her, making their nose poke together. They immediatley jumped away, "W-what are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" she asked back, "What are YOU doing?"

"Why are you so tall?" he argued,

"Why are you so jumpy?" she sneered back, but it was more like laughing,

"Why did you lean in so close?" his voice now started to return to his original tone,

"Because I didn't believe it." she poked her tongue out. "Why was it pink?"

"I have no clue." he lied. He knew why. His Earthling friend's, Sonia's opinion rang in his mind. She might be true, but... this was not the time to ponder on it.

"Anyway, " she began, "let's go outside and I will show you around. " She now walked to the entrance door and put her hand on the doorknob. He nodded and walked up to her.

"Sorry." he said. Lymle looked at him questioningly. "About earlier. Sorry for puffing out like that." he replied.

Another heartwarming smile was her answer, "It's alright. I'm... I'm glad you are back...kay?"

Before he could say anything, he felt her smaller body colliding with his, and arms wrapping around his neck.

For a couple of moments, he was dazed, but quickly encircled his own arms around her back, gently pulling her closer. As he did so, he also noticed how her hair was longer, and was now more blonder than brown.

"You sure have changed." Faize couldn't recognise his own voice. It was soft and raspy, as if he hadn't drank anything for days.

"Faize." she whispered, "I think I have missed you." she gently, but firmly held him closer, but not suffocatingly.

"I've missed you too... kay?" he replied, and used her phrase delibaretly. He felt her chuckle and she nuzzled her face against his neck. He smiled too and let out a content sigh.

What was he going to do with these new developing feelings?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

After that small incident, the duo finally got out of the Lymle's house. Though, in the beginning, in didn't really go as Faize would have liked it to be. Not soon after two steps, the green haired Eldarian boy already received his first admirer in the form of a little boy.

"Are you mister Faize?" a boy asked from somewhere near Lymle's house. Lymle and Faize immediatley turned towards the source of the small voice, to notice the little guy hiding beside the building.

"Yes, I am Faize." the questioned one replied politely, making Lymle giggle. He ignored it. The little boy gathered up more courage and walked out of his hiding place. What Faize noticed first, that he seemed to be a mixture of Eldarian and Lemurian. His eyes were golden, but had pointed ears and also wore traditional Lemurian clothes. As soon as he was in arm reach of Faize, he kept staring at him, with his mouth slightly ajar. Feeling quite uncomfortable, Faize asked,

"Um, how can I help you...?" this made the little guy more excited and jumped up in joy,

"I heard that you were a master symbologist like my teacher, Miss Lymle here!" he chirped. Faize turned to his female companion, only to see her blush.

"You became a teacher? How come you didn't tell me?" he asked, surprised.

"We never had the chance to have a long talk now, had we?" she replied gently, and looked into his eyes. "We have a lot to catch on, but I thought I'd show you around a little first."

"Please, mister Faize! Show me some offensive Symbols!" The little boy pled. When Mr. Beleth was about to answer, Lymle chimed in,

"Stark, I won't let him teach you anything offensive until you learn the Blooming Symbol, kay? If you are successful with that, I'll let him teach you the Ice Needles."

"Cool! Thank you, Miss Lymle!" The boy squeaked and sprinted away from them, towards his now waiting group of friends. Shocked, Faize let out,

"Who said I wanted to teach him...? He's still a little boy, you know... That would be quite-"

"He won't learn the Blooming Symbol very soon. He's too lazy to study." she replied calmly, and held onto his arm, "I think someone is waiting for you. I will bring you to him."

"I hesitant to know who he is." Faize replied, but followed Lymle's lead nonetheless. "Do I know him?"

"Of course you do. Here we are." They stopped infront of a big house, which had two stories. She let go of him and nudged him to go forward. "And I think you should talk to him alone. It's been quite a while since you two have talked." She walked up to the terrace of the house and sat on the bench, smiling at him encouragingly.

"I-if you say so." he walked up, and entered hesitantly.

The wood creaked below his boots as he put pressure on them. Peeking from the door, he asked,

"Is anybody here...? I'm Faize Sheifa Beleth... Lymle told me that the resident of this house wishes to see me." he now looked on more, and in that instant, a small child appeared before him. He had purple eyes and dark green hair and normal ears.

"Are you mishter Faidze? " the child managed to say, as he was munching on a chocolate cookie. Faize blinked in surprise. So many children...? He thought.

"Yes, that I am. Who are you, little child?" he bent down a little, after he closed the door behind him. The little boy, who looked like he was barely reaching the age of 4, looked up at him with puppy eyes.

"Daddy alwayyss saysss that I should be as brave as Faiidzu." he now finished the cookie, and blinked up at him, "My name is Nalryus." Faize patted the little guy's head,

"And who is your father?" he questioned. As the boy was about to reply, a very familiar voice hit Faize's ears.

"Faize, my boy! Such a miracle you have returned! I see you have befriended my son." Faize's eyes went wide, and he immediatley straightened himself.

"C-Commander Gaghan! I am utterly surprised! If I had known this child is yours then-" The young Eldarian began to stutter as he set his eyes on his Commander. He had not changed a tad bit ever since Faize had seen him. A smile was visible on his lips,

"I am no longer your commander, Faize. Address me as Gaghan. Simple, is it not?"

"Y-yes, it is, Mr. Gaghan." he still felt slightly uncomfortable, and the fact that Nalryus was staring at him didn't help a bit. Gaghan gently nudged his son to leave them be. As soon as he was out, he looked at his old, young companion.

"As I have said, it is a wonder that you are here. You heard that Lemuris had offered up to be the Paradise to us, Eldarians?"

"No sir, I haven't." Faize looked sideways.

"Then howcome you have returned here, of all planets?" Gaghan questioned, and motioned for Faize to sit down as h did so.

"I... I missed my friends." Faize replied.

"If I'm not mistaken," Mr. Gaghan began and looked at Faize, with a fatherly smile on his face, "your friends are from Earth. Neither of them are here."

"That is correct." Faize now locked eyes with him "Whereas I also have a friend on Lemuris, too. And from Roak and from EN II."

"Such friends you've made... and who's your friend from here?" he inclined.

"Lymle Lemuri Phi." Faize didn't know why, but his stomach did a turn, when Gaghan's smile grew wider.

"Such a lovely girl, she is."

"I can highly doubt that not." Faize offered his reply and shifted to a comfortable position.

"So, Faize." Gaghan began, and Faize kind of feared his next words. "Do you wish to settle down?"

"I beg your pardon, in what reference do you mean settling down?" Gaghan chuckled,

"Well, as you've seen, a lot of our brothers have found their life partners here. I bet you could have a family here aswell, if you'd searched. Or maybe you have already found it."

"B-but sir, if I may!" Faize blurted out, blushing immediatley, "I'm a tad bit too young to have a family! Could I barely take care of myself, but of a child...?"

Gaghan's smile couldn't possibly go wider, "I wasn't talking about right now. But as you have seen, everyone's happy here. And you deserve happiness afterall. Let us have a little talk about being in a relationship." he clapped his hands together, and leaned forward slightly, his face now serious, "I bet you were not tutored about family and everything previous having a child. "

"S-sir!" Faize began and mentally he noted that Lymle must still hate him to let him go through such a conversation. But Gaghan was unstoppable.

"Now, Faize, if a boy and a girl meet and fall in love-"

_Do I have to listen to this? My God, Creators, whatever, help me!_ agonized Faize in his head.

"B-but sir, I know of the-" he panicked.

"Hush now, and don't be so embarassed. My wife is not at home, and my son will not come here."

"S-sir this is really not nece-"

"Faize, my boy. Do you wish me to cast Silence on you? Such a kind, heroic soul you are, and I know you are without of a parent. I wish to help you in any way as a parent could."

Faize felt devastated.

_*An hour later.*_

"Now, Faize." Gaghan ended proudly, a proud smile on his face. Faize was cringing, and for outsiders they could assume he was about to throw up, "Do you have any questions?"

_Why did I have to go through this whole procedure, oh my maker...?_ "No, I don't. I thank you for enlighting me."

Gaghan stood up and Faize too, "I sure hope you will have a wonderful family one day, Faize."

"I... bet I will." he admitted, but in fact, he didn't really believe it so.

"Ah, and greet miss Lymle for me, please. She was such a help, and believed in your return without a doubt."

"She did?" he asked back, and looked at his former commander. Again, that small pain in his stomach...

"She did." Gaghan nodded. "But Faize... why are your eyes pink? What emotion are you trying to-"

"N-nothing of importance, sir!" Faize said a bit louder than he thought, "I must go, Lymle's waiting for me!"

With that, he practically dashed out of Gaghan's house, making him chuckle.

"Faize, my dear Faize. When will you realize what you have gotten in you?" he smiled mischeviously.

"Well? How was it?" Lymle asked innocently, as she was now lying on the bench, her hand poking a random ball of light she had summoned. Faize sighed and ignored her play,

"It was fine, I indeed... needed that speech. May we continue?" he asked tiredly.

"Well, sure." Lymle stood up, and lead him towards the main buildings of the small village. The small trip didn't take much, might took an hour, and it was already beginning to get dark.

As they began to head back, Faize began his story of the Earth, he was on for two years.

As they entered the house, he was at the part where he finally got accomodated.

It was late at night when he finally departed that planet.

Lymle was silent all the time, and was eager to hear his story. As soon as he was done telling her, she nodded and was seemingly digesting all the information, he gave her.

"My story is... quite simple. I was living here, all the time. Edge and Reimi visits me sometimes." she looked at him, smiling, "They will be happy to see you again, too." Faize's mood lit up,

"When will they visit again?"

"Possibly next month. They visit monthly. Such kind friends they are." Lymle said happily.

"Lymle." Faize began hesitantly, making Lymle blink, "Do you... accept me as a friend?"

"Of course I do!" She cried out and stood up as if to put more pressure to her words, "Back then, I was childish and... Was kind of mad at you for mocking me. I'm sorry for my behaviour." she lowered her gaze. He stood up and walked up to her,

"And I'm sorry for underestimating you, Lymle. Accept my apology, please." he begged.

"And please." Lymle continued, looking up, "Call me Lym, kay?"

For a moment, Faize was taken aback, but smiled instantly, "Alright, Lym. Thank you."

"Um..." Lymle looked around, "I don't have a seperate guest room, nor a seperate bed, but the couch and-"

"It's alright." Faize reassured her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I'm more than fine on the couch. You go sleep in your bed. I'll be fine. And I have also brought my clothes, too."

"Alright..." she nodded, "Well... I think it is time we called this a day, is it not?"

"We might aswell." he agreed. "Good night then, Lymle."

"Good night, Faize." she said and walked into her room, leaving Faize alone.

Sighing, he changed his clothes, and collected all the pillows in the room, to make the couch comfortable enough. He then searched for a suitable blanket, as Lemuris was quite cold, despite the layers of clothes he put on. When finally found one that was thick enough, he made himself comfortable, and all that was left was to listen to sound of silence.

He had so much on his mind. He turned around, facing the door.

Was it right to come here? Lym accepted him.

_Lym..._ he smiled warmly, and knew his eyes were pink again. It felt so good to have a nickname for her. That meant that she really didn't hate him at all! He took a big breath, to calm his senses down.

He was finally at home, no, in his Utopia, which he will protect with all his might. He would even help Lym teach her new students. He closed his eyes, content now.

**Children.**

His eyes popped open and turned to his back now. He definatley didn't want any children, like his commander.

_This conversation must exit my mind as soon as it can, or else I will not be able to sleep a moment this evening_. he thought angrily and kept gazing at the ceiling. When he was about to turn again, he heard a whimper from Lymle's room.

"Lym?" he asked out loud, slightly glad that she occupied his mind, instead of Gaghan's speech. He undid his covers, and quietly made his way to her bedroom.

Her door was slightly ajar, so he took the chance and glanced in.

The moon lit the whole house lightly, so he could see her sleeping form, which was not very pleasant. She was in a fetal position, and was slightly shivering and whimpering inaudible words. Faize cocked his head sideways as he watched her. She was clenching her blanket and had tears in her eyes.

Worried, he took the liberty of entering and sitting beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder,

"Lym?" he whispered, and leaned a bit closer, to inspect her face, "Lym, don't worry."

"Faize...?" she murmured and opened her tear strained eyes, like crystals they sparkled. Beautiful, golden crystals, Faize thought and nodded.

"I'm here, Lym. Did you have a nightmare?" he asked, and unconsciously began to pat her shoulder. She sniffed,

"Yeah... I did." she fell silent, and let another tear slip from her eye. "Sorry to bother you."

"Not a bother at all. I was worried. What was the nightmare about?" he asked. She moved a bit closer to him, and leaned her head against the crook of his neck, making him tense.

"You're warm." she said sleepily and let her free hand hug his waist. "I don't wanna have that nightmare again."

"... " Faize was too scared to look at her, scared of taking advantage of the half-asleep girl. So he looked down, his cheek brushing hers, "About what?" he whispered.

"I saw you fall." she whispered, and held him tighter, "You fell, and never returned. I was waiting for you, and you... in my dream, you came back, but everytime I wanted to hold your hand, you vanished. I could only see you... but... you never really there." Faize felt his shirt getting wet spots on his shoulder, "Faize... are you real?"

"I'm here, Lym." he whispered, and held her now, rocking her back and forth. How did this come from, though, he was not aware, "Remember? You told me I should call you Lym. I'm here, and never leave, till you tell me to."

"Thank you." she cried silently and held the back of his head. He felt a sparkle going down his spine, and took him all not to shiver. "Faize..."

"Hmm?" he stopped and waited,

"I..I don't want to bother you but... I... uhm... will you stay here tonight?" she said in a weak voice.

_Oh my..._ Faize panicked. "O-of course. If you wish so..."

"Thank you..." she whispered, and with a fluid movement, she brought him with her in a lying position, which resulted in Faize falling on top of her. Luckily though, he did not fall on her with such a power to knock the breath out of her, he just hit the pillow beside her head. He wanted to unfold himself from his arms to check if she's okay, but her grip was firm, and he did not want to hurt her feelings any longer.

So, with a defeated small sigh, he encircled his arms around her, while she did so around his neck, and with her having a happy sigh, she fell asleep while burrying her face in his chest.

_I think I feel content enough to_... he couldn't end his mental sentence, as he drifted off into a gentle slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4.**

Faize seemed so peaceful when sleeping. Lymle watched him as he was gently taking in shallow breaths, still in slumber.

His arms were loosely around her waist (for once, she did not complain or throw a "You pervert!" scream at him) and his hair was a mess, spread out on the pillow, locks of green covered his face, giving him a slightly leisure appearance.

She smiled and thought about waking him up. She has to tutor soon and both of them need something to eat.

"Faize." Lymle gently began, and touched his shoulder, "Wake up!"

"Grhn." he let out inaudibly and unconsciously pulled her down, making her squeak.

"Faize!" she let out, blushing madly.

"'on' 'anna." it took Lymle a few moments to decode his words to "Don't wanna".

She pulled herself up as much as she could. She also took a note that the way he behaved was very uncharacteristic of him.

"Faize! This is my last warning!" as she looked down at him, she wondered. Had he ever got a decent sleep? He was always working...

"Huh...?" Faize blinked a few times before realizing his position. "Oh my!" he jerked himself away from her, which slightly hurt her "L-Lym! G-good morning! Did I say something rude while I was asleep?" Wide awake now, his fear visible in his eyes as they were locked onto hers. She chuckled,

"Nah, it was alright. Thanks for staying yesterday night." she looked away, blushing. He cleared his throat,

"It's quite alright. You had a nightmare, had you not? Then, having company is the best way to remedy the situation." _Not to mention, you were cold_, Faize added in his mind. How many nights had she shivered through, drenched in nightmares?

"It sure is." Lymle said as a matter-of-factly and hopped out of bed, "I'm making some breakfast and then I'll be tutoring the children." she looked at him, as he sat up, "And what about you?"

"I was thinking ..." he tapped his finger against his chin, "May I request of you, to summon Cerberus?"

"Huh?" She said dumbly, "But... but he kind of, erm, dislikes you!"

"That's why." Faize nodded, "I want to befriend him." Lymle's eyes were like saucers, and he continued,

"And I want you to leave us alone."

"E-excuse me?" She gawked, "B-but if he goes berserk-"

"He won't." he smiled reassuringly and stood up. Lymle stomped,

"No! I certainly won't do that!"

"Lym, please." his eyes sparkled for a moment, when she used the word, "certainly", "I want to be in peace with Cerberus. And if you interfere, I might look weak in his eyes. "

"But...But..." she tried to protest. Sighing, he put his hands on her shoulders,

"Lym. I'll be fine. If I survived the events of Nox Obscurus, then Cerberus will be a piece of cake. I promise."

Her face lit up as he spoke and turned her attention to him more, "Promise...?" she said weakly.

He nodded, "I promise." Finaly accepting his choice, she nodded firmly.

"Alright. But if you get bitten, I won't treat your wound!"

"I won't be bitten." he replied, smiling as she trotted out to the kitchen to make something to eat.

After making every preparation and putting away all the dishes, Lymle now stood in the middle of the room, now fully dressed up, wand in her hand.

"You sure then...?"

"Yes." Faize replied, and put a bowl of food on the desk, making Lymle curious.

"Are you still hungry...?" she asked, confused.

"Nope. I'm going to use these to soften Cerberus' heart." he answered gently. "I'm ready."

Slightly shaking, Lymle raised her wand and let Cerberus out. The fiery demon dog jumped out of the portal and began to growl at Faize angrily.

Faize collected all of his courage and turned to the girl, "Please, let us be now! He won't trust me if I count on your help!"

"A-as you wish." Lymle stuttered and inched her way out of her house, leaving them alone. Cerberus growled devilishly, noticing the green haired boy was trembling.

"Cerberus." he began as he remembered Sonia's tutoring about animals, "I want to be in peace with you."

The demon hissed and began trotting towards him, his back of fire menacingly flashed. Faize didn't give up,

"Cerberus! I know you don't like me for mocking Lymle in the past, but please..." he grabbed a small cookie from the bowl, "Accept this peace of offering. I trust your master very much and has my respect aswell." he put the sweet treat down infront of Cerberus and glared at him. He was glad to see a glint of surprise on the dog's eyes. The unholy being leaned down to the cookie and sniffed at it. Slowly, and cautiously, he swallowed it in a whole.

Faize held his big breath in. Moments later, Cerberus looked up, still growling, but the young Eldarian noticed the less of anger in it's tone. He grabbed another cookie,

"I'm glad you accepted it. Please do so with this too." He extended his hand towards Cerberus, not putting the cookie down. This is why he didn't want Lymle to be here. He knew she'd throw a temper tantrum if she had seen he was trying to get Cerberus to eat from his hand. But he knew, that Cerberus must look up at him for his courage.

As he calculated, Cerberus was surprised for his bold move and a familiar glint appeared in his eyes.

Faize began to sweat. He knew not a symbol which would make his arm grow back if the dog decided to chomp it off.

A growl erupted from the unholy dog as he neared his hand. His hot breath now tickled the surface of Faize's knuckles. Then, he his mouth opened, and revealed his huge fangs, and was now closing on his hand even more. The Eldarian hand was trembling lightly as the fangs now were inches away from the cookie.

Suddenly a scream of his name blasted through the atmosphere, startling both the boy and the dog. Cerberus immediatley locked his mouth around the cookie, making Faize yell out in surprise.

"LYM!" he screamed back and looked at the girl a tad bit angrily, but unfortunatley, Lymle thought Faize screamed because his hand was bitten off.

"CERBERUS! YOU EVIL DOG!" the girl yelled and began her walking towards her dog, waving the wand threatiningly in her hand. Cerberus began to whine and he inched towards Faize, oddly.

"NO, LYM, WAIT!" Faize raised both of his hands up to show her, he was okay and she looked at him in awe, stopping in her tracks, "I was feeding Cerberus, everything was okay! See? We're both fine and he seemes to accept me."

Lymle looked down, and glanced at her dog companion, who was now behind Faize and peeking at her.

"Is this true?" the dog nodded. She looked up at Faize, who smiled.

"See? Told you, I won't get bitten. Well, I almost was, thanks to you." he tried to joke with her, but her face turned grim.

"You... tried to feed him from your hand?"

"It was okay, Lym, he-"

SLAP!

Pain struck down on the left side of his cheek and it took him a few moments to reboot his senses' system.

"You... dummy! What if he bit down your hand?" she whispered, "I know you want him to trust you, but what you did was reckless! Consider yourself lucky for not losing your arm. Come, Cerberus." she commanded and he obidently disappeared. Slowly, she walked out of the house, slapping the door behind her. All Faize could do was blink, and touch his hurting cheek.

"Is this... Wha... I..." he couldn't even construct a normal sentence together, until he burst out, "Edge, I sympathize with you now more than ever." he began to search for any kind of balm, to ease this stinging feeling in his cheek. But that slight pain in his chest again? And that suffocating feeling? He found no cure...

Faize was bored. Lymle's tutoring as it turned out, lasted till night. He didn't want to go out and socalize yet. So, what he tried to was to read some books he found, but all he found was written in Lemurian language. Now, with his translator program it would be a breeze to read them, but he left everything in his Sol, which was now parking behind Lymle's house.

Instead, he began to search for any book that would teach him new symbols. He looked a littleand he finally found an old book which had some symbols on it, which he immediatley recognised as the four elements – Water, Earth, Fire, Wind.

Happy to find something to get himself occupied with, he began studying the first page.

It was about the Blooming Symbol. He grunted and flipped another page.

Earth Rise.

He calculated in his mind. For his luck, he could read the description of the symbol: Earth Rise meant to rise pillars of earth, so if one falls into a hole, they could easily get out, or, if fallen into a river, rise themselves out to safety.

As he looked at the page, he noted that the book was almost untouched. So, it seemed like Lymle got the book, but never used it. He sighed. Such a stubborn lady, she is.

_Lady_... he smirked. It was so confusing for him, to see her as a grown woman, not a mere child. It will take time for him to fully accept her maturity. He smiled and got up with the book. Well, he wanted to be a master symbologist too, and if Lym didn't read this book, then it is her loss, but his gain.

He went to the backyard and memorized the symbol. Closing his eyes, he concentrated, and he felt the tattoos on his body prickling, meaning his body reacted to the new symbol he was trying to use. It was always like this when he used a new symbol. Glowing aqua blue, his tattoos did, he extended his hand,

"Earth Rise!" a small amount of soil seemed to gather together in a small lump to his words. Pouting, he tried again, flashing. This flashing procedure lasted till he finally mastered a symbol.

"Earth Rise!" he yelled again, and the lump grew bigger, but not enough to be able to stand on. He sighed. He will not give up! He wanted to learn this symbol by midnight. He positioned himself again...

*Few hours later, possibly at 09.35 PM in Earth time*

Faize fell to the solid ground, exhausted, still glowing. He had formed several big lumps in the backyard of Lymle's house, but those were still not big enough to be able to save a life.

"Eart..h... Rise..." he mumbled. But as tired he was, he forgot that his hands were facing the ground beneath him, so when he chanted, he rose the ground beneath him, making him stumble forwards.

"Faize I'm- What... wha... What are you doing?" Lymle stood by the doorway and looked shocked as she saw the dirty Faize, who now stood up as she spoke.

"I was training." he said simply, giving her a tired smile.

"With moles?" she blinked.

"Moles...?" he looked behind him, "Those weren't the moles' work! I was trying out a new symbol!" he cried bitterly.

"Right." she said, and turned her back to him, "We have a guest, by the way. My friend, who helps me tutor."

Faize felt slightly uncomfortable. He was dirty, exhausted and of course, she had to call over a friend _now_...

"I'll be inside in a minute." she nodded and walked inside. Faize glanced at the lumps he made, and with a single wave, he made all of the disappear, letting them spread again on the ground.

As he walked inside, he immediatley noticed, that Lym's friend was a man. For a moment, something seemed to burn in his chest, but he ignored and greeted the new person politely. He too had green hair, but his was dark and his eyes were brown. A Lemurian, he was.

"Greetings. My name is Faize Sheifa Beleth. " Faize extended his hand to shake. The other one accepted it, smiling,

"My name is Grom. So, you're the Faize everyone speaks about?" he teased him, but Faize's face remained still, "And how come you live here?"

Lymle noticed Faize became tense so she quickly chimed in, "I invited him to stay here with me." she walked up to Faize, who 's silence was deafining.

Grom raised an eyebrow, "Really? But that means, he doesn't have a place to live, right? Well, I can help you find a good house. I just know a certain good one, not so far from here." he said, smiling, but Faize didn't return the smile.

"Actually, I feel fine here, as long as Lymle's not uncomfortable with me of course." he said icily. Grom grinned,

"I understand. Living with Lym must be very fun, is it not? If I had a choice, I'd live here too." Lymle felt more and more uncomfortable at Grom's tease.

"I see. Yes, it is very pleasant to live here." Faize replied in a monotone tone. Grom smiled and turned to Lymle,

"Well, I'll take my leave then. So, you wish to have another class tomorrow too? But I heard there's a storm coming this way."

"It's alright." Lymle reassured him, and Faize blinked at her, "It will be a great opportunity to learn more about the Enshelter Symbol."

"Well... do as you wish, Lym. I don't think I will join you. See you guys later!" he chirped and exited the house. A moment later, Faize spoke up,

"You really wish to have a class in a harsh weather?" he asked, and she nodded as she sat down on a nearby chair,

"Yes, I'll be fine."

"You know it as well as we all do, that having a class in a storm is reckless and-"

"You are tutoring me about being reckless, when you almost lost your hand today?" she asked bitterly. "I'm not a little girl anymore, Faize. " the young eldarian sighed,

"Lym, I'm just worried. You might catch a cold. Not to mention, what if you slip while fighting a wild animal, or- "

"Faize!" She stood up and stomped startling him, "Accept me already! I've grown up, I know what I'm doing! I'm not that little baby girl anymore who you used to know!" her bitter rain of sorrow fell on him, as he was still in stupor "I thought if you saw me as the young woman I am, you could finally accept me, and see who I am now, but no, you still act like if I was a baby who has to be pempered!" she quieted down, "Everyone seemed to accept me, except you. You, who I wanted to see me for who I am. To see me what I had become." she now hiccuped. Faize felt terrible.

"L-Lym, I..I'm sorry." he whispered and hung his head. What should he say? He was terrible when it came to comfort someone.

"Good night, Faize." she murmured and walked away from him. He raised his head and unbeknownst to him, he was looking at her leaving form longingly.

That night, he wished that he could have that warmth he had in the previous night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5.**

Faize wasn't sleeping well that night. He tossed and turned restlessly.

_He was back in the Purgatorium as a ghost and was witnessing a ritual. He saw a lot of black cloaked men surrounding an altar. On the altar was..._

"_The girl...!" he let out and tried to get closer desperatley. Maybe he can prevent her death...!_

"_LET HER GO!" he screamed with all his might, but the shadows only encircled her more as she looked at him, smiling._

"_Serious one." she spoke softly, startling Faize. "Let go of your grief."_

_Faize gasped softly and the young girl turned her head to watch the „ceiling"._

"_My death was not redundant, as you think. I am sad though, that it was a catalyst to your succumb to evil." The shadows disappeared and now they were standing in a blank, white place. And she was smiling._

"_Open your heart, Serious One. Before it is too late."_

"_Too... late?" he whispered. "What are you talking about...?"_

"_Awaken!" she was now desperate and looked behind her._ _"For her sake! Go! " Faize reached out to her but-_

He jolted awake on the couch, drenched in sweat. What was that dream about anyway?

Thunder suddenly rolled down, and it was much too loud to Faize's sensitive ears. He blinked and watched the trickles of raindrops grace the windows. A huge hail was happening, and Faize was glad he was inside Lym's house.

_Lym..._

"Lym?" Faize yelled loudly, but to his fear, no response came. He sprang out of the bed and threw himself into Lymle's room, only to find it empty.

Another thunder roared, much louder and Faize unintentionally shook.

"Lym... you're so... stubborn... childish...urgh!" he groaned, and he felt like the pain in his stomach and ribs killing him. They gnawed him in the inside as he fell to his knees. What should he do? Where did she go?

To his utter surprise, a portal opened up beside him and from there, Cerberus came through, barking/roaring loudly.

"What is it, Cerberus?" he inquired, but soon the entrance door burst open, with two children sobbing on the treshold,

"Mister Faize, mister Faize!" they yelled, trembling. Sensing something was terribly going wrong, he hurried to them, Cerberus was his shadow,

"What is it?" he asked and ushered them inside, but they refused to calm down,

"Miss Lymle! She- she" Faize felt like the ground beneath him disappeared,

"LYMLE WHAT?" he screamed, equally in agony as the children,

"She... she saved us bu-but she's in danger!" they sobbed, "we.. we were playing when the storm c-came an-and she was t-there to save us b-but monsters ca-came and-"

"Where is she?" he yelled, not really caring about the backstory. They pointed towards a chain of mountains,

"Head t-that way, hu-hurry!" Faize didn't waste another moment and grabbed his nearby rapier and rushed out into the unholy weather, Cerberus wincing at the water he received, soon he disappeared. He was alone now.

For a moment, he thought about getting his Sol, but the chances of seeing Lymle then would decrease. Especially if she fell into somewhere where one can't see from the sky.

The hail was trashing him around, his clothes now drenched in water, his hair stuck to his face as he he still kept sprinting towards the mountains. The ground was incredibly slippy and muddy, he had to be careful not to fall. As he proceeded further, the trees seemed to lessen, and more and more cliffs seemed to show.

Gritting his teeth, he urged himself more, despite the fact that he could barely see anymore. Suddenly, infront of him a small ball of fire appeared, which was letting out a huge ball of smoke as the rain tried to put it out.

_**Cerberus!**_

In a zigzag movement, he served as a torch for the half-blind Faize. He was leading him to his master.

Moments alter, he now heard monster roars and Cerberus' growl. They'd found her!

"LYM!" he screamed and readied his rapier and struck down the first Mandragora monster he saw. The monster split into two. Other creatures began an attack at him, but his anger and agony doubled his adrenaline level, and split them mercilessly. The small horde soon disappeared and Faize was now standing at the edge of a cliff. Cerberus once again appeared, now barely having any flame. Whining, he was lying on the edge of the cliff and had his ears flopped back.

"Cerberus why are you-" Faize halted his sentence,when he glanced down at the waterfall below them.

Between the sharp rocks was Lymle's broken wand.

Faize felt something in his mind broke. He slipped to the ground, on his knees and bent forward as if to wanting to see it even more.

"No..." he whispered and another thunder struck. He clutched the muddy soil and heard Cerberus had disappeared again. "No..." he said louder and clenched his eyes shut, turning his head up to the sky, "NOO!" he screamed, his sorrowful cry echoing in the hail.

There was a stinging feeling up in his nose and eyes and felt the rarely shed tears coming to the surface, and mixing with the rain.

He screamed again, this time with more agony and hystericaly, as he was crying now, not caring about how Eldarians are not supposed to show emotion. His cry shook his whole body, as his tears streamed from his eyes.

"Faize...?" commander Gaghan's voice now annoyed him. "We're... sorry. We understand your pain about losing Miss Lymle... We are still searching-"

"SEARCH ELSEWEHERE!" he screamed, not caring about who he was talking to, "She's... " he hiccuped, "She must got carried by the river below us...!"

"Faize." Gaghan's voice was grim, "There's no chance she survived that fall. "

Faize let out sounds he never thought he would. He winced, he hiccuped, he hissed, "Sh-she be-believed in my return without a doubt, right?"

"She did but-"

"So am I! I'm not letting her die out there by herself!"

"Faize, my son what are you-" Gaghan's eyes went wide when Faize sprang away from the edge, into the river below them.

"FAIZE! " Gaghan yelled and watched him fall. The young boy splashed into the river with a huge crash, but the older Eldarian saw no blood. Moments later, his green head appeared on the surface, and seemed to be alive and emitting a fighting aura. Gaghan turned around,

"There's no way we're letting either of them die!" fellow Lemurians and Eldarians were behind him,

"Let's search all around the river!"

With a nod, they all spread out, and were searching along the river and it's surroundings.

Faize almost lost consciousness due to the power of the contact he made with the water. But his willpower was beyond him, almost limitless and he immedatley pushed himself onto the surface. He took a big breath of air and looked around frantically. No sign of her...

He ducked underwater, but to his unluck, the flow of the river was stronger and he got knocked into several rocks, bruising his and somewhere cutting into his skin. Ignoring his pain, he swam further, searching for any signs of Lym.

"_You know... you care about her. Very much."_ he heard Sonia in his head. He blinked.

"_And I do think that dream was true. Find her... find her before it is too late. And get to your senses, kid." This is just my imagination._ Faize thought, but the thought was still in his mind. Quickly, he shook it off and was still searching for her. Gladly, thanks to his Genetic manipulation, he was able to see clearly underwater.

He swam faster, got many bruises and cuts and was bleeding as he swam, but he didn't give up. Slowly, he felt very, very cold. The freezing water, the hail, it all added much pressure and he was growing tired. But his will wanted to move, it urged his tired body to move on.

He suddenly got thrown onto a rock that was above the surface, like a small island. He was breathing heavily against the rough skin and tried to move his neck.

Suddenly a small, faint voice reached his ears. He immediatley got new power, and searched for the source of the voice. His prayers had reached someone who granted his wish...

"_Lym!"_ he cried out tiredly. She was holding onto a branch that was leaning over the river. She was bloody aswell, but alive. To his voice, she hopefully looked at him, equally happy,

"Faize...! " she breathed.

"Don't let go of that branch!" he commanded, "I'll bring you to the shore safely!"

"I was hoping you would." she replied and held onto the branch with even more despair. Suddenly, due to the hail, the level of the river inched higher, and a new wave almost washed Faize off from the rock, and tore Lymle away from the branch,

"Faize, hurry!" she screamed.

Faize panicked. If he moved, or held onto that branch, it'd break and they'd both be washed away. But he can't linger here, because the next wave will wash both of them away...

He then remembered something. Setting up his mind, he looked at Lym and shouted,

"As soon as you get to the shore, run back towards New- Triom!"

She was shocked, "M-me? And you...?"

"DO AS I SAY!" he screamed, "I told you not to get out in this weather!" He did argue with her on purpose. His tattoos began to glow.

"But those children were in trouble!" She yelled. _Thank god, she took the bite_. he thought. He extended his hand,

"EARTH RISE!" With a last faint glint, his tattoos were dark again, and as he hoped, Lymle got thrown onto the shore, with a surprised yell.

"FAIZE!" She screamed, her face bloody and eyes filled with fear and despair,

"LEAVE AT ONCE!" he screamed back, and soon, his body was washed away by the new wave that was too strong for him to stay on the small stone.

"FAIZE!" She screamed and wanted to rush to where he disappeared, but to her other surprised, Gaghan held him back.

"Lymle, let's get you to safety. I will personally look for-"

"FAIZE!" She screamed and tried to pry Gaghan off of him, "NO! FAIZE!" she screamed, and another thunder struck.

"Miss Lymle! We will find Faize, please, calm-"

"I WON'T CALM DOWN! THAT STUPID SYMBOL DREW ALL HIS ENERGY OUT! HE IS UNCONSCIOUS, HE WILL NOT SURVIVE!" she struggled in Gaghan's arms. Next to them, the search party already began searching for Faize. Another eldarian tried to use a drying symbol, but Lymle was not standing in one place. Gaghan tried his best to held her firm,

"Don't underestimate Faize, miss Lymle. He is one of our best symbologist. He will survive as he did save you."

"YOU DUMMY!" she screamed and sobbed. She wanted him back. She regretted how she talked to him earlier.

It was all too late now...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6.**

Unfortunatley, Lymle had to be knocked unconscious. Until then, she had a tantrum, and was screaming for her friend, unintentionally slowing the rescue process. Commander Gaghan with a hard heart, but cast Sleep on her, so the rest of the team could transport her home, to treat her wounds.

The hail hadn't had stopped, but even grew stronger. The old Eldarian seemed to lost hope. No one could find his favorite boy, who saved a life again. The team searched up and down, not missing a single kilometer, but the unholy weather now turned out to be dangerous.

Trees were ripped out from their roots, and it felt like instead of water, ice had struck down from the Heavens. Eventually, Gaghan had to call the team back even though it hurt him aswell, to leave Faize out in a weather such as this. He didn't know which would be better – if he had lived, or if he died while being unconscious underwater.

How will he tell Lymle...? He too was searching and the river was long, they couldn't get tio it's end, but if Faize ended up in the ocean, then it was a futile try. Not to mention, he must have lost a lot of blood by now, and if he would be alive, Kreeks (Lemurian Sharks) would find him immediatley by the scent of blood.

It was 04.00 PM (according to Earth time) and Gaghan was at home, watching as the hail grew even more violent. As he watched, he felt like this is unnatural, and something must have triggered such a horrific occurence. Nalryus was holding onto his hand and he too kept on watching the weather. His wife, Mina walked in, sighing. Her long, red hair seemed to glister in the dimly lit room,

"Still no sign of Faize...?"

Gaghan shook his head grimly. For him, Faize was like his adopted son and his disappearance hurt him as much as if he'd lose Nalryus. To this thought, he grabbed his real son and held him up in his arms.

"I have to tell miss Lymle. I'm going to use a transport symbol." he hugged Nalryus who hugged him back, squeaking. Mina nodded sadly and walked up to them,

"Do what you must. I do think you should stay with her a little till she calms down."

"I was planning that aswell." he nodded and gave Nalryus to his mother.

Gaghan closed his eyes, and in a dim flash of light, he disappeared.

Lymle by now was awake and inside her bedroom. Her eyes were puffy and still had tears streaming out of them. Still, she didn't calm down, and was craving to see Faize again.

She much regretted slapping him and talking to him like that. She wanted to run up to him, and hug him, and beg for his forgiveness for being stupid and making him rescue her...

She cringed and the tears came rapidly. She wanted him back so bad. She never thought she'd miss him this much. Gathering all her energy, she got up from the bed and walked out to the living room, which also served as her kitchen.

There, on the sofa, she found the pillows he used to sleep on. With a hiccup, she walked there and lay down to his place. His scent engulfed her. She grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it to her face, inhaling his scent, intoxicating her mind, and slightly calming her down, and making her heart beat faster.

Disturbing her private moment was a flash of light, which soon formed a figure. Commander Gaghan. Lymle didn't even bother to get up from Faize's place.

Gaghan saw how miserable she was and that made it even harder for him to tell the grim news.

"Miss Lymle... " he began and Lymle looked up from the pillow,

"You didn't find him, correct?" she whispered. Gaghan was struck speechless and nodded. She sighed and sat up, her heart aching by the news.

"I'm not surprised, kay? He likes to do that. Act like dead and then come back. He will come back."

"Lymle." Gaghan began, "He won't return. "

"Did you find his corpse?"

"No... In this unholy weather, there is no possibility he could survive there alone with those wounds he received."

"Do you think... " she looked up, her eyes now hard, "that a hail will stop him from surviving? If the Grigori didn't kill him in outer space, a damn little rain won't kill him either!"

"Lymle, this isn't really just rain. You must have seen it with your own eyes – forests also get damaged, and the speed of the fall makes the raindrops into razors! Even if he is on the shore by now, he can barely move. "

"I know he will come back." Lymle ended the conversation and held the pillow to her heart, "I will never stop believing. Edge would still search for him!" Gaghan seemed sad as he looked at Lymle.

"Thank you for telling me. You may leave now." she lay down again, and took a breath of the pillow again. Gaghan silently teleported away again. Lymle broke down again, the tears flowing and she hugged the pillow even closer to her face.

Another flash of light appeared and Lymle gasped. When she saw that the figure had green hair, she screamed in joy, and launched herself into the person, and immediatley wrapped her arms around him and burried her face into his chest.

However, what she immediatley noticed was that the scent did not match with that sweet one she breathed in a few moments ago.

"Lymle?" a voice which was definatley not the one she was waiting for questioned, "I'm glad to see you too. " he chuckled and hugged her back, but Lymle pulled back and stepped away.

"Sorry, I thought you were Faize." she said icily and stared at him, with tear strained eyes, "What do you want?"

Grom sighed in defeat and looked at her sadly, "I came because I heard what happened to Faize." he put his hand on her shoulder, "I thought you need company. "

Her eyes narrowed and she gently slapped his hand away, "I'm sorry but I wish to be alone, kay? " To this, Grom angered and withdrew his hand,

"Why are you so attached to him, huh? You said yourself that he was very arrogant with you and looked down on you! Not to mention he still looked at you as a little girl, as if you were a baby! I never did this to you! I see the woman who you really are!" his bitter words did not make Lymle fathom, only angered her more.

"No." was all she said. Grom raised an eyebrow,

"What do you mean by no?"

"I mean," she began and she couldn't believe the thoughts she was about to spill, "That he did look down on me. But as we traveled together, he grew to see me as his partner, eventually he grew to cherish me. He didn't look at me as a baby anymore, no. He saw me as a friend, whom he must protect at all costs. " her eyes became teary, "It was me, who never realized what his true intention was when he wanted to keep me away from danger. He adores me, cherishes me and wants me to keep me away from any harm. Because he wants to protect the woman I am. He would put his life on the line for my sake. As he did now." by now she was crying as she realized everything. She glared up at Grom,

"And what did you do? You sat in your home and used Transport Symbol to come here! You never tried saving those children or me! You are such a coward when it comes to risk your life! " Grom was surprised at her outburst. She was never like that. He thought maybe her grief turned her out like this so he gave her a bitter smile.

"I understand now. " he looked away, "You love him, don't you?"

Lymle gasped and clutched the pillow stronger. "It's none of your business, kay?"

Grom smiled and nodded, "Alright. See you later, Lymle." with that, he disappeared in a flash of light.

The young lemurian girl looked down at the tear strained pillow. What was she doing...? Faize never gave up. The moment he knew she was in danger, he sprang into the arms of danger in order to save her.

She put down the pillow and opened her door. The hail was not easing up, the sky seemed like it was sew of millions of black cloaks. She clenched her hands into fists. Next to her, Cerberus appeared and snarled at the sky as if he was saying, "I'm ready when you are!"

The young Symbologist grabbed a wand from behind the door and pointed at Cerberus,

"Enshelter!" Cerberus was now blocked from the hail and he ran out infront of the house energetically. Lymle pointed at herself and cast it on herself too.

"Search for him, doggie! We won't come home till we find him!" Lymle shouted as they both broke into a run. Cerberus let out a fearful roar, as they began their search for the Eldarian boy.

The hail penetrated his skin, and the scent of blood was just too strong for him. With every drop of blood that seeped from his wounds, he felt like his energy gets sucked away.

He blinked several times to adjust his vision and with all the strenght he could muster, he raised his torso and looked around.

He was washed ashore in a forest, his toes were still in the water and his body was drenched in blood and water. He was shaking as he felt his body temperature rise and he immediatley knew that he even caught something bad while being unconscious. He hoped it was something curable.

He calculated his options.

He might try to call his Sol, but in this weather, it would be very risky, and he can't fix his machine if it would get damaged. He could also get up and try limping back to the village, but the weather and the wild animals make his chance of surviving even slimmer.

Groaning, he struggled to his feet but the exact moment, he yelled in pain and fell to his bottom. His left ankle couldn't bear an ounce of pressure. Wincing, he checked his wounded limb. It seems like he twisted and wounded it at the same time,but luckily he didn't damage vital joins or muscles in the process.

He got desperate. He can't even call his Sol, because he can't even get in it!

But at least, he saved Lymle, and that was all he was glad about. He closed his eyes and a single tear appeared in his right eye. If he was meant to be sacrificed for her, he'd gladly let himself to fall for death. At the moment, he can't really move and if he did try, the hail would make his struggle even more hard and impossible.

He never wanted to give up. Even if he did make a walking stick, the animals or monsters of the forest would rip him apart. It was the Devil's Circle, he can't get out of.

He lay back down, with a smile. Either he will die out of bloodloss, or by the fangs of something wild, or starvation or by his now growing fever. Neither of them seemed nice. Trembling, he now began to lose consciousness again.

"_Don't give up, Serious One." he heard a gentle voice._

_The girl..._

"_Use her dog! Like your machine, he too can feel your presence! How do you think he gets to the little girl? I thought you know how the contracts work. " she chuckled._

"Huh...?" Faize opened his eyes and then immediatley closed them as the hail struck down. The tribe girl was right. Summoned beings know where they are summoned to with the help of the summoner's mind. He was no summoner, however. Nevertheless, he had kind of bonded with Cerberus, so he must sense him!

He clenched his eyes shut and conentrated all his will on the demon dog, praying he would signal to his master about his whereabouts before it was too late for him.

Lymle was running through the forest and didn't care that her dress was now a mere liter of water. She must find Faize at any cost!

Next to her, Cerberus was panting and sniffing around. Lucky for them, no monsters or wild animals appeared due to the monstrous weather.

Suddenly, Cerberus stopped and perked his ears up, making Lymle hault too.

"What is it, doggie?" she walked up to him. Cerberus growled and the flames on his back seemed to be more alive and he wagged his tail. With a bark, he turned around and motioned for his master to follow him.

Curious, Lymle followed her faithful companion and prayed he caught a trace of her friend.

Friend...? Or her love?

She was blushing as she had this thought. She sure grow close to him... and missed him more than ever.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7.**

Faize was on the edge of falling sleep. He knew he shouldn't because then the possibility of never waking up would occour. He tried his best to stay awake and to concentrate on Cerberus. The hail seemed to easen up. For that, the boy was glad.

He sighed and clenched his hands intp fists.

_Lym, hurry up_... he pled.

Suddenly the rustle of leaves perked his interest up. He tried his best to look to the source of the sound and in that exact moment, he felt like instead of blood, ice is being pumped in his veins.

He saw a very familiar black celestial body land not so far from his position.

A vessel of the Grigori.

He felt himself shiver and panic. He didn't care if they killed him, but Lymle...? If she did come here, she'd be in huge trouble! He can't even protect her at all! His leg was useless!

His fever seemed to gnaw at him, his throat was burning and so were his eyes. The pain was unbearable but he mustered up all his will to watch the celestial body land. What were they doing here? When he was defeated, all the sources must had been cut off!

Moments later, the ship disappeared, and in it's place, only a handful of soldiers remained.

Faize furrowed his eyebrows. He never saw anything like that. He could only think that they can't maintain unlimited soldiers, as the main powers source was off. Hence, the remaining Grigori would still be alive, but never to be able to reform themselves like they did when they first encountered them.

The bushes rustled and then a single soldier appeared not so far from him and Faize froze. The faceless monster set it's "eyes" on him and began to close on the unprotected boy.

Faize clenched his jaw. It didn't point it's gun on him, and didn't strike yet, what was the matter with it?

The soldier was now next to Faize and kept staring down at him, the boy trembling on the ground.

"Master." it spoke and startled him. He blinked. Does the phantom think he is still posessed...?

"Source... give... back..." the soldier knelt down and reached for his head. Faize gathered all his strenght and tried to slap away the hand, but the moment he came in contact with the surface, he fell into a trance, with a scream.

_We shall take away your pain, come back..._

_We who are one and all..._

_Come, child and embrace the power. Evolve into a wonderous being._

_No more sadness. No more pain. No more tears._

_Only happiness and joy. _

_Isn't that what you want?_

_Come... come..._

Faize tried to struggle himself out of the balck being's grip. He didn't want to get posessed again! All the heartache and suffering, he didn't want to go through again...

"_Don't give up, Serious One!" she pled and he felt her hand on his shoulder, "Don't let it get to you!"_

_The girl..._

"_**I'm here, Serious One. I'll support you. You've become so strong..." **__he heard how impressed she was and felt gentle arms embrace him from behind, __**"Let's not let that thing get inside you, okay? "**_

Faize let out a painful groan, and he felt a zap of energy slap the black soldier, but those thoughts didn't leave his mind yet,

_We, who are one!_

_Come, boy!_

_Embrace the power you sought!_

_Do you want to see that girl again?_

Faize was now trashing side to side even though the soldier was not in contact with him. Well, not physically. It was still staring at him, as if it hypnotized the eldarian's body.

_You've always whined how weak you are._

_Grab this oppotunity!_

_Do NOT oppose us!_

"_**Serious One, you are strong!"**__ the girl said again and hugged him tighter,__** "Hold on!"**_

_I see there is no other option._

_You have failed, pathetic puppet._

_Good bye, boy._

Faize gasped and opened his eyes, only to see a gun pointed at his face, his heart beating at an insane speed. Time seemed to slow down. The soldier aimed it even closer...

And in that exact moment, a flash of light appeared and an unholy scream shook the ground, slashing away his almost-murderer.

"Faize!" a soft voice screamed, which was a melody to Faize's ears.

"Lym..." he managed to choke out, though half-unconscious and barely able to open his eyes, but he managed to look at her, who was running towards him, tears in her eyes. Her Cerberus was ripping the soldier apart.

Moments later, she collided with him, her arms embracing his neck and the back of his head.

"Faize." she sobbed. "I knew you were alive!" she pulled him closer. The boy closed his eyes, enjoying her warmth.

"Lym." he breathed gently, not wanting to break their moment, "The.. grigori are here... get to safety. I'm unable to move. My left leg is useless..."

"You dummy. " she hiccuped. "You thought I don't know the transport symbol? I'll bring us home in no time. Just hold on."

"Lym." he breathed and made the girl look at him. His eyes sparkled the most clear purple and his face was gentle, even though blood tainted his porcelean skin, "Thank you, for saving me. " he clenched at her shoulder gently.

She blushed and nodded. She hugged him again, and used the Symbol to get them out of the danger.

Faize got his minor injuries nursed by Lymle immediatley thanks to the Ex- Healing she used. His leg was now alright, but his fever did not ease. The girl immediatley fetched Gaghan and Lutea for help, who used a lot of medical herbs to help the boy get better.

Faize of course immediatley told them what he experienced, about the returning Grigori and him almost being posessed again. When he highlit that it was Lymle who saved him from getting posessed again, the girl could only blush and Faize gave her a genuie gentle smile.

"So this is why the weather is so hectic." Gaghan nodded as they all sat in Lymle's living room. Gaghan and Lutea were sitting next to each other, while opposite of them sat Faize and Lymle. The older symbologist woman was deep in thought,

"I don't know what they are... but Faize, these were the ones who captured you?"

Faize nodded, "Yes, and I'm afraid they are here because they want another host. Hence... I used to be the power source."

"...Out of your will!" Lymle added and grabbed his hand. Faize gasped and blushed at the same time, "You always forget to add that."

Faize looked away, embarassed.

"Anyway. " Gaghan continued and Faize turned back, "This is urgent and we must eliminate this threat. But without outer help, this might be impossible!"

"How about your friends?" Lutea asked, "Could they help us out?"

"Of course they would!" Lymle nodded, still not letting go of Faize's hand.

"And we could use my Sol to contact them." Faize agreed. As they reached an agreement, the sky was now clear, but it still had an omnious atmosphere. They all stood up,

"I will call a village meeting. Every people must know of this threat." Gaghan declared.

"I will get all my symbols ready and see what I can do." Lutea nodded and they left the house, leaving the youngsters alone. Still holding onto each others hand, Lymle blushed and looked at him,

"I'm sorry." she said. Surprised, he turned to her.

"Sorry? About what?" she looked down to the floor.

"For slapping you the other day. I shouldn't have done it." she confessed. He smiled and gently tucked at her cheek,

"If you're sorry about that, then I'm sorry about my behaviour towards you. I admit I was uhm... Over reacting."

"But if you hadn't reacted over and weren't worried much, I'd be dead." she whispered and leaned against his chest and listened to the gentle beat of his heart. "You saved me."

"So did you." he gently embraced her and nuzzled his head against hers, "If you hadn't come for me, I'd be possessed, dead, or something far worse. Your actions were truly heroic."

"You dummy. Next time you want to save my life, don't try to kill yourself, kay?"

He chuckled and pulled back to look at her, "I am hesitant to give you my word on that."

"Dummy!" She poked her tongue out and stepped away from him, trying to be angry at him, but she just couldn't be mad at his goofy smile. "Next time, Cerberus will be eating you!"

"Not if I have cookies for him." he replied cheekily. Huffing, she walked to the entrance,

"I had enough of you!" she grabbed the doorknob and he raised an eyebrow,

"Where are you going?"

"Shopping of course!" She replied and closed the door behind herself, making him chuckle.

"So Edge was right about girls. They do always go shopping when they are mad or glad." he grinned and shook his head.

"I HEARD THAT!" he heard Lym's scream, and a roar of laughter erupted from him. Outside, Lymle was smiling too and walked towards the shop.

She was going to be baking cookies to celebrate he was alive.

In secret, of course.

It was by nighttime when she arrived and inside, Faize was nowhere. Shrugging, she thought he must be training or learning a new symbol, so she began baking the cookies and all kind of sweets she could. To the scent even Cerberus appeared and tried to steal one of the sweet stuff, but Lymle quickly hushed him away. Sometimes Summons can be as annoying as real pets...

Within an hour (A record time, she noted) she made all the cookies she was planning to and now began to look for Faize. To her surprise, he wasn't training or studying, but was sitting at the hill behind her house and was staring at the stars. The scene was completed by his Sol which was parked not so far from him. She smiled.

He never really had a sentimental side, or she had never seen, so for her this was absolutely new. She went back inside and grabbed a small plate, put on some cookies and decided to join him. Cerberus was glad when she had that thought. As for the weather, it was gentle, and the grass was no longer wet, which was a miracle.

Or just Faize learned the Drying Symbol and overused it a bit.

"Hey." she whispered and Faize looked up at her, smiling. She sat down beside him, and put the plate between them. "Freshly baked. Thought you might wish to have some, before Cerberus gulps them all down."

He smiled his eyes never leaving her, "Thank you, Lym." he grabbed one and nibbled on it.

"It tastes fantastic." he said honestly and quickly finished the one he just started and reached for another one. His flattery made her blush so she looked up to the starry sky.

"So, why are you sitting here, all alone?" she began. He too stared up at the sky and gently tilted his head sideways. By now, his hands were behind him, and his knees were also bent.

"I was... thinking. " he offered the answer.

"About what?" she pushed the topic and grabbed a cookie too. Faize cleared his throat.

"About myself and my part in the world. I was so hopeless the other day when they tried to posess me again. Darkness almost consumed me." She blinked at him, then unnoticed by him, she inched a bit closer to him, almost touching his hand. He was still staring up. "But... a voice told me to hold on. An unnamed voice. But not an evil one... One that was coming from the light." he chuckled a bit,

"I think my mind has lost another fragment of sanity." he concluded. Lymle noticed the plate was empty, so she put it away, to her side, and instead, put her hand there as she balanced herself.

"If you keep saying that you are going mad, you will." she chirped and Faize closed his eyes, smiling.

"Let's just enjoy this pleasant time, shall we not? From tomorrow, it will be rough." he said gently.

"Yes." she looked down sadly. "But atleast, we will talk to Edge and Reimi."

Suddenly, she felt his hand on hers and they both immediatley blushed. Lymle snapped her head towards Faize and vica versa. Both of them were red as the setting sun.

"S-sorry, I thought the plate was still there!" he stuttered and tried to pull away his hand, but to Lymle's surprise aswell, she held onto it. Faize gasped at her move and dared not to move or do anything.

Even though her face was crimson, she was smiling and held his hand gently between both of hers.

"Faize. Promise me to never leave me again... kay?" her voice sounded much more mature than ever, and he was amazed. A faint tint of the blush still lingering there, he wore a serious expression and nodded.

"I will not leave your side. Never ever, Lym." he whispered, and he put his other hand ontop of hers, as if confirming his promise. The young eldarian boy felt like he lost control of his own body. His hand then slipped up to her face, and held it gently. Lymle didn't slap his hand away, just smiled at him encouargingly, yet a bit nervously.

Hesitatingly, she also slipped up her hands, and encircled them around his neck, pulling him closer, but this time, she didn't want to hide her face into the crook of his neck.

With his other hand, he gently pulled her waist closer to him, slightly holding her up so she doesn't have to twist her spine in order to lean in.

His breath now fanned across her cheek, both of their hearts thumping at the same insane speed as they grew closer.

As they closed on, they closed their eyes at the exact same time. Their noses touched gently, his caressing her small one.

Then, their lips also had made contact. For a moment, they were both afraid, but soon they relaxed and with more courage and confidence, they continued go further.

With utmost care and gentle, he deepened the sweet kiss, which for the both of them were their first.

They pulled themselves closer to each other not wanting to let go of the other one, now that they were finally reunited.

_She's my light_. he thought happily.


End file.
